NHL Power Rankings: Best all-time value draft picks of every team

What would happen if we put together a starting six of players each team has picked? Who would have the best draft value? Here’s where we find out.

Starting with the first NHL Amateur Draft in 1963, 11,586 players have been selected to join the ranks of the National Hockey League. A good number of them have gotten to play in the big league, and some of them have succeeded tremendously, though not necessarily for the team they were drafted to.

So that got us thinking, what would be each team’s best lineup of all time of just players they drafted? If every player ended up playing for the same franchise they were drafted to, who would have the best lineup?

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That would be easy to figure out. So we’re going to add a level of difficulty here. We will aim to find out who used their draft picks the best, and make a lineup of the best value pick at each position for each team since 1963. That means those mid-to-late round picks get a chance to shine.

We are determining the relative value for each player by taking his Point Share total (thanks to hockey-reference.com) and comparing it to the average Point Share total of every player ever picked in that draft slot.

This will obviously skew results toward the past, but that’s ok because the newer players haven’t had a chance to make their lasting impact on their respective teams yet.

Additionally, we will not be including the most recent draft, because obviously players like Jack Hughes haven’t had a chance to suit up for their team yet (to be fair, Jack Hughes was already picked by the New Jersey Devils franchise in 1977, when the then-named Colorado Rockies selected a different Jack Hughes with the 142nd overall pick, and that Jack Hughes played in 46 games for them).

You’ll see names in unfamiliar places, and names you won’t recognize without looking up who that guy actually is. Just imagine the easiest way to name drop ever, and that’s what we have here. That’s fine. Lots of research was put into this to make sure it’s correct, so you have our word.

We begin our power ranking with the most obvious team on the list.

31. Vegas Golden Knights

G: N/A
D: Erik Brannstrom, N/A
F: N/A, N/A, N/A

This one’s easy. Vegas has had just one player out of their two draft classes to suit up for an NHL team, being Erik Brannstrom. Brannstrom has played just two games in his career, both for the Ottawa Senators following last year’s Mark Stone deadline day deal.

Vegas hasn’t had a chance to reap their crops from the farm yet, so it’s obvious that they’ll have the worst lineup of players they drafted. In fact, it looks quite lonely up there. Though, one would imagine this year the rest of the lineup may start filling out. But for now, Brannstrom is taking the solo skate for the Golden Knights.

30. Winnipeg Jets

G: Kari Lehtonen
D: Tobias Enstrom, Braydon Coburn
F: Dany Heatley, Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little

Okay, now the real list begins. The Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets 2.0 franchise has been around since 1999, and there is just active player from that year’s draft class (Ryan Miller). So having this many active players on the team makes sense.

In terms of value, you’re getting franchise value out of Mark Scheifele’s 7th overall pick, and very solid production from picking Toby Enstrom 239th in 2003. Other than that, the value isn’t high for a bunch of first-round picks, which was par for the course for the Thrashers portion of their history, which was set with picking Patrik Stefan ahead of the Sedin twins.

The offense here is pretty good, but the less said about the keeping-the-pucks-out-of-the-net effort the better.

29. Columbus Blue Jackets

G: Steve Mason
D: Kris Russell, David Savard
F: Rick Nash, Boone Jenner, Cam Atkinson

A lot of the early picks the Blue Jackets made didn’t pan out, so they were forced to rely on value picks later in the draft to get someone they could rely on. Well, besides Rick Nash, who was first overall in 2002. Steve Mason brings a Calder Trophy, but a career that has some Philadelphia mixed in, so your goaltending isn’t great.

The defense doesn’t include a top-four option at the moment, so that’s not good either. You do have Cam Atkinson on the other wing, and he’s getting good now, so Columbus might score a few with him and Nash on the wings.

However, defense wins championships, and if you give up as many goals as this lineup would, you’re not winning anything.

28. Minnesota Wild

G: Anton Khudobin
D: Nick Schultz, Nick Leddy
F: Erik Haula, Mikko Koivu, Brent Burns

Here comes the first entry you might be confused about. Brent Burns? At wing? Isn’t he a defenseman? Yes, he is now, but when he was drafted 20th overall in 2003 by Minnesota, he was a power forward prospect and played forward for them for a while before being switched to defense in San Jose. Other than that, the only late-round finds here are 1B goalie Anton Khudobin and PK specialist Erik Haula, who’s been traded twice already.

This team lacks a punch outside of Burns, and the stats would be even worse had he not flourished as a defenseman in San Jose. Not great for this lineup.

27. Florida Panthers

G: Kevin Weekes
D: Jaroslav Spacek, Filip Kuba
F: Kristian Huselius, Oleg Kvasha, Radek Dvorak

In the Florida lineup, only Radek Dvorak was a first-round pick, 10th overall in 1995, and he brings pretty decent value for that slot. The rest of the team includes some good-not-great names like Kristian Huselius and Jaroslav Spacek, and Kevin Weekes is a career backup (but a fantastic analyst).

But most of these picks were later on in their draft years, and that pushes the Panthers up a couple of spots in these rankings. This is a combination of middle of the lineup players with a backup goalie. Not gonna compete with other teams you’ll see here.

26. Tampa Bay Lightning

G: Andrey Vasilevskiy
D: Pavel Kubina, Roman Hamrlik
F: Nikita Kucherov, Brad Richards, Richard Panik

The Lightning lineup is buoyed by Nikita Kucherov already being the best 58th overall pick in NHL history by age 26. Brad Richards is the best 64th pick overall ever and was clutch when it mattered most. Only one player ever came close to Pavel Kubina’s value at 179th overall (that being Jaroslav Modry). Andrey Vasilevskiy is a very good goaltender now and has plenty of time to improve on his standing as the best goalie Tampa’s ever drafted.

In terms of winning games, this team has a big hole on one side of the ice, which could slow things down. Otherwise, not a bad lineup.

25. Anaheim Ducks

G: Ilya Bryzgalov
D: Jordan Leopold, Niclas Havelid
F: Paul Kariya, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry

The first thing that catches your eye with the Ducks’ lineup is the forward group. Paul Kariya was a fantastic scorer in his time, Corey Perry had a top-notch scoring touch in his prime, and Getzlaf is still one of the better set-up centers in the league.

All three were first-round picks, though. The back end is managed by second-round pick Jordan Leopold and third-round find Niclas Havelid, neither much more than middle pair defenders in their prime. Ilya Bryzgalov adds to the entertainment value of this team by just being there.

This Ducks lineup will score. They just won’t stop much. In terms of our metrics, this is the worst-ranked defense pair you’ll see. So yeah.

24. St. Louis Blues

G: Mike Liut
D: Bret Hedican, Risto Siltanen
F: Jochen Hecht, Doug Gilmour, Paul MacLean

Unless you really follow hockey or are a Blues fan, the only name that stands out here is Doug Gilmour at center. Gilmour was picked 134th in 1982, and had a wonderful career to boost the value of finding him. Jochen Hecht was a solid Sabre for years, and Paul MacLean may better be known for coaching the Senators or his mustache (hard to tell what was better), but was a decent find at 109th overall. Mike Liut was a very solid goalie, and both Bret Hedican and Risto Siltanen were good late round picks.

The best feature of this Blues lineup is in goal. Other than that, pretty nondescript.

21. Nashville Predators

G: Pekka Rinne
D: Shea Weber, Ryan Suter
F: Scott Hartnell, Craig Smith, Patric Hornqvist

Funny enough, if you rewind back to the 2011-12 season, five of these six players were actually teammates on the Preds (just missing Scott Hartnell). That team was actually really good until a second-round loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. Shea Weber and Ryan Suter were actually picked in the same draft.

Pekka Rinne was found at 258th overall (a pick that no longer exists due to the seven-round format nowadays). Patric Hornqvist was actually Mr. Irrelevant in his draft year, taken with the last pick overall, and made a career for himself with Nashville and Pittsburgh.

This team has a very strong defense, but the offense isn’t very potent. Such is life with Nashville, I suppose.

20. Philadelphia Flyers

G: Ron Hextall
D: Gord Murphy, Janne Niinimaa
F: Patrick Sharp, Bobby Clarke, Rick Tocchet

What good Flyers lineup is built without offensive firepower, face-punching prowess, and some defensive details left out? This lineup is very true to the spirit of Flyers hockey. Bobby Clarke is the franchise, and his 17th selection in 1969 ended up producing the best player in that class. While most of his success was with Chicago, Patrick Sharp was a great find for 95th overall. Rick Tocchet was an even better find at 121st in 1983. Ron Hextall is someone you’ll take any day at 119th. Though Gord Murphy isn’t the best defenseman ever, getting him at 189th is great.

As it usually is in Philadelphia, this lineup would score, let up goals, and occupy the penalty box. As is tradition.

19. Carolina Hurricanes

G: Cam Ward
D: Chris Pronger, Ulf Samuelsson
F: Geoff Sanderson, Ron Francis, Kevin Dineen

This Carolina lineup is actually more a Hartford Whalers lineup, considering all but Cam Ward were drafted well before the move to Carolina, so here’s an excuse to listen to Brass Bonanza, not that you ever need an excuse. Anyway, Ronnie Franchise was picked high but is the star of the show here, similar story with Chris Pronger on the back-end. Kevin Dineen, Geoff Sanderson, and Ulf Samuelsson are all household names from the days of Whale, and were all solid mid-round finds. Cam Ward is easily the best goalie in team history, which you’ll take at 25th any day.

A couple of Hall-of-Fame players here, and solid across the board otherwise. Not a bad lineup for the Canes.

18. Ottawa Senators

G: Brian Elliott
D: Sami Salo, Erik Karlsson
F: Pavol Demitra, Mike Fisher, Daniel Alfredsson

Ottawa comes in with one of the better late-round finds in franchise cornerstone Daniel Alfredsson. Alfie was picked 133rd overall in 1994 and retired the bar-none best player in the modern-era Senators’ franchise history. Pavol Demitra was picked 227th and had himself a very nice career.

Sami Salo dropped to 239th, and also was solid throughout his career. Brian Elliott made it all the way to 291st, which is one of the latest picks ever and has shown streaks of being a very good goalie.

The Sens have late-round value in this lineup and are fairly solid across the board. Nothing too overpowering, but they can definitely skate with a lot of teams.

17. San Jose Sharks

G: Evgeni Nabokov
D: Sandis Ozolinsh, Marc-Edouard Vlasic
F: Ray Whitney, Joe Pavelski, Mikael Samuelsson

The two biggest steals in Sharks history have to be Joe Pavelski and Evgeni Nabokov. Both were picked after 200th overall, and both made a significant impact on Sharks history. Nabokov gave them their first true ace goalie, and Pavelski was one of the best scorers and leaders the team has seen. Sandis Ozolinsh and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are both solid defenders for second-round picks and compliment each other well, which is important when putting together a lineup.

A solid back-end for this San Jose lineup, but the scoring isn’t quite there yet. Give them some time and they’ll improve.

16. Dallas Stars

G: Don Beaupre
D: Trevor Daley, Matt Niskanen
F: Jamie Benn, Mike Modano, Jarome Iginla

Another confused face, I see? Yes, Jarome Iginla of Calgary fame was actually picked 11th overall by Dallas in 1995 but was traded months later for Joe Nieuwendyk (which worked out well for both sides).

Putting him together with late-round stud Jamie Benn and Mike Modano (who was excellent when you compare him to other first overall picks), and you have a dynamite offense. The defense is very meh, and Don Beaupre was good but played on some very bad teams in an offense-heavy era, so you could imagine this team getting scored on a lot.

That offense though…imagine what it would look like. Amazing is what I would say.

15. Colorado Avalanche

G: Tim Thomas
D: Jeff Brown, John-Michael Liles
F: Michel Goulet, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk

Much like Dallas, this Avalanche lineup is heavy on O, weak on D. Joe Sakic was the best player in Nordiques/Avalanche history, which is much more than you’d normally expect at 15th overall. Michel Goulet and Milan Hejduk both had very underrated good careers with the Nords/Avs franchise.

The defense, you ask? Not much to see here. Tim Thomas was a very late bloomer but was originally picked by Quebec before his career taking off in Boston years later, but in order to get him in net, you have to reach him first. Good luck.

As mentioned earlier, all O no D makes Colorado a fun team to watch. Winning? Could be.

14. Chicago Blackhawks

G: Dominik Hasek
D: Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien
F: Brandon Saad, Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer

On the flip side from their two Central division rivals we just mentioned, this Chicago lineup is all about keeping the puck out. Led by one of the best goalies of all time and former 199th overall pick Dominik Hasek, and buoyed by second-round pick Duncan Keith and late-round gem Dustin Byfuglien, this team is stacked back there.

The offense? Well, if you’re talking NHL 94, then any team with Jeremy Roenick on it will dominate. Steve Larmer was on his line back then, but as the line from the 1996 film Swingers goes, “It’s not even so much me, it’s Roenick.”

Chicago has a good lineup, with some offense and a very solid defense. This team could steal games.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins

G: Greg Millen
D: Kris Letang, Michal Rozsival
F: Markus Naslund, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr

If you want a high-flying lineup with tons of offense, look no further than the most offensively potent forward group in this exercise. Yes, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were top-five selections, but both were so good that it’s harder to imagine making a better value pick at those spots.

Markus Naslund was a mid-to-late first-round pick and became a fantastic forward in his own right. The defensive side is far less exciting, but that’s not saying much. All of Kris Letang, Michal Rozsival, and Greg Millen were mid-round picks and all gave decent-to-solid value for where they were.

This team will score at historic levels with Lemieux and Jagr. Keeping the puck out is the wild card, but the offense makes the Pens worthy of a spot this high.

12. Washington Capitals

G: Olaf Kolzig
D: Scott Stevens, Sergei Gonchar
F: Alexander Ovechkin, Dmitri Khristich, Peter Bondra

Four of these six Capitals players were first-round picks, but all range in the upper echelon of talent. Olaf Kolzig is still probably the best goalie in Caps history, Sergei Gonchar was a very good defenseman, Scott Stevens is a Hall of Famer, and Alex Ovechkin is on his way to the Hall, and maybe the best goal scorer the league has ever seen.

Peter Bondra was one of their best Capitals forwards ever pre-Ovechkin and was a 156th overall pick. So this is almost just a collection of the picks the Caps got right plus Bondra. This lineup is actually quite well-balanced. Scoring from Ovechkin and Bondra, defense from Stevens, goaltending from Kolzig. All around good.

11. New York Rangers

G: Henrik Lundqvist
D: Sergei Zubov, Brian Leetch
F: Brian Vickers, Doug Weight, Tony Amonte

Here’s a list of goalies who have more point shares than Henrik Lundqvist: Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo. All of those guys were picked in the top 51 of their respective drafts. Lundqvist was 205th.

Add that insane value with mid-rounder Sergei Zubov and franchise defenseman Brian Leetch on the blue line, and the Rangers look hard to score on. Doug Weight and Tony Amonte were both above average players for their time and neither were picked in the first round.

While this Rangers team could use some offensive punch compared to other teams here, they will be very stout defensively and will stay in almost every game they’d play.

10. New Jersey Devils

G: Martin Brodeur
D: Scott Niedermayer, Eric Weinrich
F: Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez, Pat Verbeek

It’s still hard to believe how half this lineup got to New Jersey. Patrik Elias was a second-round pick and ended up becoming the most prolific scorer in Devils history. The pick to land Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer was traded to the Devils for Tom Kurvers.

Calgary traded up with the Devils to grab goalie Trevor Kidd, leaving New Jersey the 20th pick to land Martin Brodeur, one of the best goalies of all time. Include some grit from Pat Verbeek and creativity from Scott Gomez, and you have a great forward group.

When you have one of the best ever in net, an elite defender who was ahead of his time, plus some scoring, you have a solid team across the board. The Devils should win games with this lineup.

9. Boston Bruins

G: Dan Bouchard
D: Raymond Bourque, Mark Howe
F: Brad Marchand, Joe Thornton, Glen Murray

The Bruins had a lot of first-round success with this lineup, as everyone here is a top 30 pick save Brad Marchand, who is becoming an excellent steal in the third round. Joe Thornton had an outstanding career, even in comparison to other first overall picks.

Mark Howe never did play for Boston, starting his career in the WHA instead, but was great compared to other late-first round picks. The real prize here is Ray Bourque, who has more point shares than anyone not named Wayne Gretzky.  That’s a defense pairing of all time.

This Bruins lineup is buoyed by the best defense pairing you’ll see on this list. It was so good, it alone is vaulting them into the top 10.

8. Arizona Coyotes

G: Nikolai Khabibulin
D: Teppo Numminen, Dave Ellett
F: Keith Tkachuk, Daniel Briere, Teemu Selanne

In a very similar boat to the Carolina Hurricanes, most of this lineup was actually picked by the original Winnipeg Jets. The wing pair is excellent, featuring mid-first round picks of very good Keith Tkachuk and mind-bogglingly good Teemu Selanne.

Neither of defensemen Teppo Numminen nor Dave Ellett were picked in the first round. Nikolai Khabibulin was picked 204th overall and turned into a very valuable goalie with his name on the Stanley Cup. There’s a lot of value there for what the Jets/Coyotes used.

This team can score in bunches and has a solid back end. The Coyotes are rather good here contrary to most of their team history.

7. Buffalo Sabres

G: Ryan Miller
D: Phil Housley, Brian Campbell
F: Dave Andreychuk, Pierre Turgeon, Alexander Mogilny

Speaking of being rather good here contrary to most of their team history, I present to you the Buffalo Sabres. Starting in the net is Ryan Miller, who is not only a tremendous value at 138th overall, he was the most valuable player in the entire 1999 draft.

Brian Campbell was a very late pick (156th overall) and had a great career, and Alex Mogilny was a very fine 89th overall pick. Sprinkle in some first-round magic with Pierre Turgeon, Dave Andreychuk, and Phil Housley, and you have a very good team put together.

This Sabres team is built the right way to win championships. This is a very good lineup throughout.

6. New York Islanders

G: Roberto Luongo
D: Zdeno Chara, Denis Potvin
F: John Tonelli, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy

It shouldn’t matter if five out of these six players were picked in the top 33. There is something to be said when everyone except one player in a lineup is in the Hall of Fame (or will be in short order). Roberto Luongo has more point shares than any goalie in history, and Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier were both excellent for late-first round picks.

Add in a franchise changer at first overall in Denis Potvin and living legend Zdeno Chara, it’ll be very tough to beat this team. The Islanders scouting staff did excellent work to draft all these players. Imagine if Mike Milbury didn’t let Luongo or Chara slip away.

Not much else to be said at this point. The Islanders have a very very good lineup throughout and would be very tough to beat.

5. Edmonton Oilers

G: Andy Moog
D: Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe
F: Miroslav Satan, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri

No, Wayne Gretzky wasn’t drafted. However, Mark Messier was, at 48th overall in 1979. For this exercise, he’ll do just fine. Flanking him are mid-round picks Miroslav Satan and Jari Kurri, one of whom is in the Hall of Fame and the other is quite good in his own right.

Paul Coffey was a high pick but was one of the best offensive defensemen in NHL history. Kevin Lowe was one of the few players from the Gretzky-era dynasty who was more defensively oriented, and made himself worthy of his first-round status.

There is a lot of know-how-to-win character on this team, as well as gobs of talent everywhere. This is a lineup that can win often.

4. Detroit Red Wings

G: Chris Osgood
D: Nicklas Lidstrom, Reed Larson
F: Henrik Zetterberg, Steve Yzerman, Mike Knuble

Steve Yzerman was picked fourth overall by Detroit in 1983, behind Brian Lawton, Sylvain Turgeon, and Pat LaFontaine. Yzerman had more point shares than all three of those combined, but he’s not the real treasure here.

That belongs to Henrik Zetterberg, picked 210th overall, and made a Hall of Fame-worthy career out of it. Or maybe it should be Nicklas Lidstrom, picked 53rd overall and has the sixth most point shares of all time. Chris Osgood was picked 54th and also was very good for the pick.

This Red Wings team has two hockey legends, one of the best steals of all time, and a very good goalie. It’s worthy of one of the best on this list.

3. Los Angeles Kings

G: Billy Smith
D: Larry Murphy, Rob Blake
F: Luc Robitaille, Bernie Nicholls, Dave Taylor

The Kings are one of two franchises whose lineup is top 10 in each of forwards, defensemen, and goalies here (Buffalo the other). The Kings also have steals everywhere in this lineup, with only Larry Murphy being picked in the top 58 of their draft class.

Luc Robitaille was one of the best scorers in his era and was picked 171st in 1984. Goalie Billy Smith was a key part of one of the greatest dynasties this side of the 1967 expansion and was picked 59th.

Rob Blake was picked 70th and became a Hall of Famer as well as GM of these Kings. Throw in Bernie Nicholls and Kings lifer Dave Taylor, things look good. This Kings lineup is full of Hall of Fame talent and is good across the board. You may not find a better top-to-bottom line on this list.

2. Montreal Canadiens

G: Patrick Roy
D: Chris Chelios, Larry Robinson
F: John Leclair, Mike Ribeiro, Stephane Richer

The Canadiens here boast a top two goalie and defense pair, all of whom picked 20th or later. Larry Robinson was that 20th pick and Chris Chelios was 40th overall. Patrick Roy is one of the best goalies ever and was picked 51st.

That combination carries the Habs to the elite tier with a solid but not overwhelming offense. All three were picked not long after the first round, and all were solid. They could have enough scoring to win games on their own, but a line of John Leclair, Mike Ribeiro, and Stephane Richer won’t scare anyone.

That being said, as long as they put a goal or two on the board, Montreal would have a great chance to win. You’re not scoring against this defense.

1. Calgary Flames

G: Mike Vernon
D: Al MacInnis, Gary Suter
F: Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk, Brett Hull

The Flames have an incredible combination of forwards and defenders in this lineup, very worthy of the best lineup here. Al MacInnis was picked 15th and was one of the all-time greats. Gary Suter was picked 180th and was a fine defenseman for 16 years.

Joe Nieuwendyk was a Hall of Fame center picked 27th, and the star of the group is the 117th overall pick in 1984, a winger named Brett Hull. Mike Vernon was very solid in net, especially for a 56th overall pick. Combine all this, and you have a top-5 offense and defense, and solid goaltending.

When you look at things this way, the Flames are the best team here, and they don’t even have a Hall of Fame goalie. That’s pretty darn good.